Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the “world’s most famous athlete” by American sports news giant ESPN.
The 31-year-old, forever in the news, tops a list put together by sports analytics specialist Ben Alamar, who used “a formula that combines salary and endorsements with social media following and Google search popularity to create the ESPN World Fame 100 rankings”.
As ESPN says, the news won’t come as any surprise to the football ace as he already knows he is “breathtakingly handsome, gifted and wonderful (even if he can’t quite persuade us he’s as good as Leo Messi)”.
“Yet it’s nice for him to be reminded of his greatness by wandering round a museum that he’s bankrolled on the (Madeira) island to be a shiny shrine to himself. In its midst stands a life-size waxwork of CR7 himself”.
Ronaldo’s two Champions League titles are named his “peak moments”, especially as “Ronaldo was bought by Real Madrid to win “La Décima,” their long-cherished 10th European Cup, and his extra-time penalty against Atlético Madrid in 2014 sealed the deal at the end of a Champions League campaign in which he scored a record 17 goals.
“It also allowed him the chance to strip off and pose like a muscle man — an act he never needs to be asked twice to perform,” the sports channel adds.
Ronaldo’s chief rival – Barcelona’s Argentine star Lionel Messi – is placed third on the “most famous” list, behind NBA basketball sensation LeBron James.
Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr takes the number fourth spot, ahead of Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, NBA star Kevin Durant, American golfer Tiger Woods and Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. The two final top-10 spots feature Colombian footballer James Rodríguez and Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal.
See the full list (here).
